Expedition to Murmansk: A Memorable Journey
Léo Leroux, a 1st year student of the «Politics. Economics. Philosophy» program, shared his four-day expedition to Murmansk organized by AEGEE's Moscow Branch. Despite the fact that the trip took place in November 2023, the memories are fresh and impossible not to share. From the article you can find out how this expidition influenced his scientific interests and whether Leo saw the famous Northern lights.
Léo Leroux, a French international student studying in HSE University's "Public Policy Analysis" track of the PEP master's program, recently embarked on an expedition to Murmansk organized by the local Moscow Branch of AEGEE (Association des États Généraux des Étudiants de l'Europe, known as European Students' Forum in English). The four-day trip, which took place between November 24 and 28, 2023, left a lasting impression on Léo. The journey included the Arctic circle, Alyosha Monument, witnessing the northern lights, staying in Teriberka's private banya, and night hikes.
Despite the tight schedule that left little time for improvisation or rest, every day was packed with unforgettable experiences and happy memories. One particular experience that stood out to Léo was renting a private banya house in Teriberka for one evening. Léo and his fellow travellers ran twice into the Barents Sea, running from their banya to the ocean in the snow with an outside temperature of -19 degrees Celsius. They also went on some night hikes on the hills surrounding Teriberka to get some beautiful night views of the lake.
During their stay in Murmansk and Kola, Léo and his companions didn't interact much with local people since the city is enormous, making the expedition group the most reliable group of people in the surroundings. On their first night near Murmansk, Leo and his companions were disturbed early in the morning by an eccentric gentleman making inappropriate proposals. This peculiar circumstance necessitated their decision to contact the local law enforcement authorities for the safety of the expedition group.
In Teriberka, especially if you choose to live in the northernmost part of the settlement, you have to rely on local people for transportation when you don't have your personal vehicle. The taxi drivers were townspeople who grew up all their lives in Teriberka and are now very experienced in dealing with tourists on a daily basis. They didn't speak any foreign language but were always very eager to stop for a short while to show them some small details - a fox running along the road, some shooting star in the sky or the best spots to see northern lights.
The expedition had a significant impact on his future career prospects as it confirmed his love and passion for Arctic territories. After returning from Murmansk, Léo started reading scientific literature about the area again and finally decided to change his research topic to make it related to development policies in Arctic regions. In this regard, he can say that this expedition already had some impact on his future prospects since it pushed him into pursuing a new research topic and re-activating his instincts towards this region of the world.
For those interested in such a trip, Léo draws attention to the 'exhaustion factor', since distances one has to go through from one place to another are often much greater than expected. The transfer on a private van between Murmansk and Teriberka took more than four hours, and the tight schedule required by such expeditions can easily wear someone out physically, especially if you take into account other factors such as lack of sleep, lack of light, and very cold temperatures. Léo suggests underlining this aspect strongly beforehand so that every participant can organize themselves and prepare physically.
Article prepared by Okeke Maryprecious Chiamaka